Geisinger Health System is investing in advanced robotic-arm assisted joint replacement technology to offer an increasing number of total hip, total knee and partial knee replacements for its aging patient populace.

The Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery system from Stryker uses a virtual CT-based 3D model to help Geisinger’s surgeons to create a patient’s surgical plan pre-operatively before the actual procedure. During the surgery, they can execute that plan and make any essential modifications while guiding the robotic arm, which assists surgeons in accurately replacing a joint.

The Geisinger patient guide explains that the process begins with a CT scan of the patients joint which is used to generate a 3Dvirtual model of the individual’s anatomy. The virtual model is then uploaded into the Mako system software which then creates a personalized pre-operative plan.

The chief physician officer of Geisinger Musculoskeletal Institute, Michael Suk says that the Mako system uses information gotten from an advanced image or CT scan of the affected area and creates a navigation map of the affected joint to be replaced, so that the robotic arm helps the surgeon to execute precise cuts which helps them implant the joint with great accuracy.

According to Suk, studies have shown that the robotic-arm assisted knee replacement is two to three times more accurate than the conventional replacement procedures. He says that the Mako system enables Geisinger surgeons to leave little traces of a surgical procedure as the robotic navigation allows them to be careful of things that could normally not be seen in such procedures. The robotic-arm assisted joint replacement generally leads to a fast post-operative recovery for patients.Geisinger Health System currently has three Mako systems in its inventory, with the three located at AtlantiCare in New Jersey, Geisinger South Wilkes-Barre and Geisinger Shamokin Area Community Hospital in Pennsylvania.